Indian government wooing Chinese component manufacturers to set up shop in India

A top government official said that India and China have their strengths and the intent is to bring them together through partnerships to create a win-win proposition.ET Bureau | October 23, 2016, 15:30 IST

A top government official said that India and China have their strengths and the intent is to bring them together through partnerships to create a win-win proposition.

"Investing here is welcome, because it has spin off benefits such as jobs, creating value and increasing our manufacturing base, which is very different from dumping Chinese products here," said Aruna Sundarajan, secretary of IT and electronics ministry, on the sidelines of the second India-China mobile phone and accessories manufacturing summit.

"Rather than looking at India as a market where people would buy products, make in India is about changing that, by recognizing our competencies, partner with us and Make in India," she added.

The comments come at a time when there is a growing sentiment to shun Chinese products - recently yoga businessman Baba Ramdev asked for a boycott of Chinese products, citing China's reported loyalties to Pakistan instead of India. Delhi government has banned import of China-made fire crackers.

Sundarajan said that safety, security and quality were paramount as there were some products from outside which may have vulnerabilities. However, she said it's not fair to take it beyond that, since a number of electronic products are coming from China, including mobile phones.

In order to pave a smooth way for investors to come to India, the government has created financial and tax policies in a progressive and calibrated manner, to move towards ease of doing business. Strong economic and financial, policy and predictability of roadmap, which will make India a strong manufacturing destination.

"We want Chinese companies to partner with Indian companies to make locally," she added. The government aims to make 500 million mobile phones in India by 2019, from 280 million smartphones at present.

"There's a huge amount of engagement from Chinese and Indian companies, and an unprecedented opportunity for partnership. Chinese innovation and capital can make for a strong partnership," she added.

She added that government was fully backing the Make in India program and was creating a full architecture behind it. "We want more investors to come and make for the world, so we will make sure there are less disadvantages," she added.

In the second India-China mobile phone and accessories manufacturing summit, state governments from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Telangana among others pitched their states for Chinese component makers to set up their units.

The states outlined the incentives they were offering, including developed land and automatic approval within 15 days of application.